Music to Your Ears

By Laura Marrich

Love Letters to Warped Tour--Spending Fourth of July weekend under the blistering sun of Las Cruces sounds ... well, bad. But what if you just happened to be at Warped Tour, in the presence of 60 of your most revered alternative teen-dream bands? Like AFI and Anti-Flag, Bouncing Souls, NOFX, Saves The Day and Senses Fail? The Casualties? Better? OK, how about this: What if you and a friend didn't have to wait in line, got in for free and gained special access to the tour's VIP backstage barbecue?

All right. Because that's exactly what we're aiming to do.

The Alibi, in collaboration with the Warped Tour and New Mexico State University Activities, is giving away four pairs of tickets to the July 3 leg of the Warped Tour in Las Cruces. All you've got to do is write a valentine to your favorite Warped touring band.

Log on to www.warpedtour.com/warped_tour/band_list/29 for a complete list of the Monday, July 3, acts. Then compose a short (75-300 words), heart-felt ode to your favorite band on the bill. When you're done, e-mail that puppy to loveletters@alibi.com, or mail your valentine to 2118 Central SE, PMB 151, Albuquerque, N.M., 87106. Make sure you include your own mailing address and daytime phone number in there as well.

The top four submissions will each get a pair of free tickets to the Las Cruces concert. And that's not all. One grand prize winner will also receive a "skip-the-line" pass and admission to the Warped Tour's infamous after-hours barbecue--guaranteed to be the most star-studded wienie roast you'll ever attend. That's right! You'll get to break bread with the same big-name musicians you've been drooling over for much of your adult lives. Who knows? If you bring a copy of your winning love letter, you might just get invited onto the tour bus ... you heart breaker, you.